SSSSSh the Pelage

[peradvo@hotmail.com]

This is how I think a fish gets the Discus Pelage. It is a Virus and it is always around. If a fish becomes very week, they can come down with it. This must not happen very often. Once a fish has it, They are real contagious. The illness seem to last only seven days. during that time the fish can come down with secondary infections. If you treat for secondary infections, the fish can recover very quickly. That's why it seems to pop up out of no where.

[April]

well..shipping and stress can bring it on..but theres alot to it. theres many many differrent strains of pathogens , bacterial, viral, etc etc etc. some are carriers for awhile once they've been sick. mixing many fish from many different places and hatcheries is like a time bomb. you get a fish in whos a carrier..the others havent had it and are very innocent..and sharing hoses and nets and even air born from a very humid hatchery can transfer it. some are mild and some are deadly. some have come in carrying cholera which can be transferable to humans even. so..only way to identify is to send a fish for testing to a lab. Cary from Great lakes hatcheries has done alot of studying on diseases and alot have learnt alot of valuable information from him and has gotten alot of help from him. also Brewmaster .

[peradvo@hotmail.com]

April:

I believe you are confusing the secondary infections with the primary illness.

Cholera for example would be a seconday infection in my theory.

[Wahter]

Interesting:

pelage -- (growth of hair or wool or fur covering the body of an animal)

If you don't believe me, check here:

Princeton University Word Search (http://www.cogsci.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/webwn?stage=1&word=pelage)

:D

[Jeff in NC]

Touche Walter Touche!

[Carol_Roberts]

Are we discusing discus plague?

[wiseone]

Are we discusing discus plague?

Hi, most the discus in mumbai (India) are suffering from discus plague! i lost most of my discus... n remaining few r n bad state... cant find ne info on how to cure them!!! can somebody help????

one more thing a link on SimplyDiscus
http://www.simplydiscus.com/library/links.shtml#1

Disease and Medication Information -> Discus Plague

is dead!!!!

pls help!

[Carol_Roberts]

Discus plague is a balnket term for many different illnesses. Someone need to get a fish to a pathologist to see what is exactly the problem.

[chuckbam]

I believe it is a common name for the Virus that is going around the discus industry and hobby. It shows its ugly head with clamped fins, rapid degradation of the slime coat

I took some fish to LSU, and the Dr. there confirmed that it was in fact a virus.

Antibiotic and anti parasite treatments useless.

[Northwestcoastdisc]

kill them, but hard to get better them, BE CAREFUL for imported anywher discus in your same room would be WIPE OUT!

The best is seprate rooms, equipments, etc.

always wash your hands with antibontic soap is best stuffs after work with your fish.

Duncan

[Jeff]

I do not believe these is a such thing as the discus plague. It is just a generic term used when someone has something and they do not know what it is.

[wiseone]

well after doing lots of google search i found something interesting...

http://www.fishenthusiast.com/discusplague.html

exactly this is happening to my babies as well...

"some fish begin to turn dark and seek shelter in secluded corners of the tank. Soon all involved fish are "huddled" in a dark corner, exhibiting extreme shyness, heavy mucous production on the skin, severe "fin rot" and rapid respiration. On closer examination, the fins will show clear non-pigmented areas where the tissue appears to be dissolved and the mucous layer will be streaky where the fish has been rubbing against objects in the tank. While the fish appear to be very sick, they continue to eat sparingly, moving in a tight school to the food, then swimming as one unit back to a dark corner. Some fish will lie horizontally on the top or bottom of the tank, trying to hide in the smallest shadow. Mature adult fish appear to suffer the most severe symptoms, often dying within the first few days of the disease."

[Carol_Roberts]

http://members.shaw.ca/dclubine/master.htm
read Dave Clubines article on quarantine and columaris too

[wiseone]

i m on it rite now!

[tpl*co]

OMG! That looks nasty! I've seen fish look like that at the LFS in tanks too. :(. Can other fish be carriers of this disease and pass it on to the discus if moved into the tank, or only discus?

[April]

all fish and plants need to be quarantined to prevent it. some people have bought plants from a lfs only to end up with problems.
bear in mind..theres not only one plague..theres many virus' and bacterial etc etc problems all needing different medications. thats why you need to have one tested so you know what medication will treat it.
best way is when you get a new batch of discus..start a new tank , different nets, different siphons etc etc and wash hands inbetween. dont bring one or two discus home..and add them to an existing tank .
if you have a new tank of discus..wait for quarantine to be done. and if you have a cull you can add it to that tank and see if it remains healthy. most people quarantine for 6 weeks.

[wiseone]

my entite hatchery is affected by this virus... everyday there is one death!

rite now i m treating them with SALT (only) & temp 92F...

[chuckbam]

my entite hatchery is affected by this virus... everyday there is one death!

rite now i m treating them with SALT (only) & temp 92F...

I have had it 2xs, the last time I saved over 90%. Make shure you do 50% water changes each day. I would lower the temp to a more normal range.

Best of luck,

[Jeff]

A virus? I doubt that. Where are you located? If close to me call and come over I will give you something that will fix it in a few days.

[April]

talk to jeff. if its bacterial..and high heat..you will just make it grow fast and furious.
also..big waterchanges sometimes stresses them out more. furan 2 and maroxy and lots of salt is a good med..but i would talk to someone like jeff who has a bit of knowledge or brewmaster who has studied the different pathogens .

[wiseone]

A virus? I doubt that. Where are you located? If close to me call and come over I will give you something that will fix it in a few days.


Hi jeff, i m from Bombay (India), can u guide me how to fix the problem!!!!

[wiseone]

A virus? I doubt that. Where are you located? If close to me call and come over I will give you something that will fix it in a few days.


thnx alot Jeff u doses helped me... thnx to SimplyDiscus coz of u guys i can sleep peacefully now.... thnx

[Jeff]

No Problem. I'm glad it worked. Ancient American Secret.

[brewmaster15]

Glad to hear your problem is over. What was the treatment?

-al

[AADiscus]

Great Q Brew!!! Please share Jeff.

[Jeff]

Not yet. I still consider it experimental.

[brewmaster15]

Chuck,

I took some fish to LSU, and the Dr. there confirmed that it was in fact a virus.

When you took these fish in to LSU , what specificj virus did the Pathologist Identify it to be and how did the DR. come by the conclusion that it was a virus? What tests were done?

-al

[chuckbam]

al,
I don't have that information. But, the PHD of the School of Veterinary Medicine told me, over the phone, that "there is evidence of a virus". He could not recommend any treatment.

[brewmaster15]

Hi Chuck,
I understand.

I read your post and thought that someone might have finally identified a specific pathogen. :( Theres a lot of viruses out there and I would not doubt that in some cases a virus of some sort is a cause as many have speculated, but at this point I don't think any of the researchers and pathologists out there have actually identified it. ...Just best guesses from the evidence and lack of other causes being being present.

It would have been nice if your pathologist had positively identified a virus...Thats not an easy thing to do though.

-al

[chuckbam]

Hi Chuck,
I understand.

I read your post and thought that someone might have finally identified a specific pathogen. :( Theres a lot of viruses out there and I would not doubt that in some cases a virus of some sort is a cause as many have speculated, but at this point I don't think any of the researchers and pathologists out there have actually identified it. ...Just best guesses from the evidence and lack of other causes being being present.

It would have been nice if your pathologist had positively identified a virus...Thats not an easy thing to do though.

-al

I have had sick fish with what looked liked the same pathogen 2x. Both times it disappeared in about 10 days. The second time I did not treat with meds and my survival rate was over 95%. All I did was large water changes to combat the pollution from the rapidly degenerating slime coat.